


Not Meant To Be

by theoncomingscarlettstorm



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-09 01:31:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11658813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theoncomingscarlettstorm/pseuds/theoncomingscarlettstorm
Summary: Soulmates were always a concept that interested Dan. Not enough to study it, but enough to have many late night Wikipedia adventures. Soulmates have matching tattoos. They represent something about your soulmate, and can change. Some people are born without soulmates, some soulmates are platonic, and some people have multiple soulmates. It’s all very irregular and complicated, and even though years of study has gone into it, no one really knows how it works.__________________________________________________________In other words, Dan finds his soulmate, and it's not Phil.





	1. Chapter One

Soulmates were always a concept that interested Dan. Not enough to study it, but enough to have many late night Wikipedia adventures. Soulmates have matching tattoos. They represent something about your soulmate, and can change. Some people are born without soulmates, some soulmates are platonic, and some people have multiple soulmates. It’s all very irregular and complicated, and even though years of study has gone into it, no one really knows how it works.

Dan has a soulmate. His mark is a black raven. It didn’t used to be. When he was a kid it was a group of clouds. When he was a teenager it was a group of roses. But it’s been a raven for awhile, on the back of his neck, angled towards the left. He doesn’t know what any of means, or if it means anything at all.

Phil, his flatmate and best friend, doesn’t have a soulmate. There isn’t any mark on his skin and there never has been. He’s okay with it. He says there are plenty of people without a mark who fall in love. He’s right, but Dan still finds it weird. Phil is an amazing person, Dan doesn’t like that he doesn’t have someone he’s meant to be with. If anyone deserves a soulmate, Phil does.

He used to be vocal about that opinion as well, when he and Phil first met. Dan was reliant on his mark, reliant on that fact that there was someone out there, someone guaranteed to help him find happiness.

Phil taught Dan to be reliant on himself, allow him to find that light within him. Since then, Dan hasn’t really thought about soulmates, besides passing thoughts when he sees his mark in the mirror or when someone else comments on it, he’s mostly forgotten about his soulmate.

That was bound to change.

\----

Dan and Phil were in Florida, for a convention for YouTube. It was nice to come to these, meeting their subscribers, talking with others in their field, travelling, but it was also work, which is why they scheduled their stay a week longer to relax a bit while in the states.

Dan was currently sat by the hotel swimming pool, laughing at Phil who slowly easing in because “the water’s too cold, Dan!”

There were a few other groups of people, not enough for it to be crowded (the pool was quite large), but enough for them to stay in their corner.

“Just jump in, you baby” Dan spoke through a laugh. Phil had just retracted his feet for the billionth time.

“You just jump in!” was the older’s retort. Dan laugh and stood up, removing his shirt as he did.

“Are you going in?” Dan responded by jumping into the pool, close enough to the edge that he’d splash Phil.

“Ugh, you jerk!”

Dan swam up to the edge and placed his elbows outside the pool innocently. “It’s really not that cold, and besides, it’s hot out,” Phil came over and sat crossed legged in front of Dan.

“Too cold for me,”

“Baby,”

“Bear,” Phil booped the younger’s nose, causing him to laugh and swim over to the pool ladder. He was tempted to push Phil in once he was out, but instead he restrained himself and walked over to a towel.

Two girls were starting to approach them, Dan could tell from the giggling, and tossed Phil his shirt, assuming they were subscribers. Phil nodded and pulled it over his head, instantly putting on his best smile.

The girls walked straight to him, ignoring Phil. Dan's smile faltered a bit. He knew he had more subscribers than Phil but it still made him a bit upset when people ignored Phil completely. He deserved more recognition.

“Hi,” one girl said then immediately giggled into the other girl’s curly, brown hair, whispering something.

“Hello!” Dan said, renewing his smile. When they didn’t say anything, besides more giggling, he spoke again. “Did you want picture with me and Phil?” Okay, maybe he was a bit salty. Phil smiled at him over the girls’ heads and walked to stand next to Dan.

“Uh, who?” The second girl spoke. “No, we don’t want a picture, well, maybe later, but--”

“I’m your soulmate!” The first girl interrupted.

That wiped the smile straight off Dan’s face. _Soulmate? Here? Now? How did she know?_ These questions and more raced through Dan’s head in a millisecond, though to him it felt like an hour with each one. “What?” was all he said. _Very intelligent, Dan._

“Soulmate! I didn’t think you’d be British, or so tall for that matter,” she enthused.

“How do you know?” He asked. He was starting to feel panicky, but he didn’t know why. The girl was happy and smiling, he should be too, if she’s really his soulmate.

“Your mark, silly!” She laughed, then turned around and lifted her long, red hair to reveal a black raven against her pale skin, identical to Dan’s. She turned back, leaving Dan to stare at her shoulder, still shocked.

“This is so exciting! What’s your name? Mine’s Ellie, Ellie Stone. Where are you from? I can’t wait to--”

“If you’ll just excuse us for a moment, we’ll be right back, I promise,” Phil interrupted and grabbed Dan’s shoulders, dragging him away. It wasn’t until Dan was pushed into the bathrooms that he realized he wasn’t breathing. He gasped for air and sunk to the floor, desperately trying to even his breaths.

“Dan, hey, Dan,” His best friend said softly, but firmly. He was kneeling in front of Dan, careful not to be too close, and to not touch him. “Dan, I need you to focus, okay? Focus on my voice.” Dan nodded his head, but his movement was frantic and he still couldn’t breathe properly. “Dan, hey, focus on my voice. I’m going to count down, Dan, I want you to count with me, okay?” Dan nodded again. “Okay, from ten, okay? Ten...nine...eight...Dan, with me,”

He continued counting down, Dan repeating after him. It took five minutes to get to one, and another five to do the process again. By then, Dan found his lungs and had Phil’s hands lightly touching his arms.

“Thank you,” He finally spoke.

“Of course, Dan. Do you want to talk about it?” Dan shook his head.

“No, just a bit overwhelmed.” Phil gave him a soft smile and fully sat down so he could wrap his arms properly around Dan.

“That’s understandable. You did just meet your soulmate,”

“Soulmate, right,” Dan was still having trouble processing, even if he wasn’t panicking anymore.

“Do you want to go out and talk to her?” Dan didn’t respond. The answer was no, but it wasn’t the correct answer. It, she, was his soulmate. He shouldn’t be on the floor of the bathroom, he should be out there talking to her, getting to know her. But he really didn’t want to.

“Dan,” Phil said, shaking him softly. “It’s just me,” Dan couldn’t speak so he just shook his head.

“Why not?” Dan shrugged his shoulders. “Okay, how about we go and ask them to dinner, so you can have a bit of space before talking, yeah?” Dan hesitated before nodding. “Okay, come on then,”

The stood up and Dan kept his head down, embarrassed. Phil kept his hand on Dan’s lower back as they walked out of the bathroom, guiding him back to the girls--to his soulmate.

“Oh! You’re back! Good, I was starting to think that was it!” The girl--Ellie--laughed, obviously nervous. Dan gave a small smile as response.

“Hi, I’m Phil,” Phil held out his hand to Ellie, then to her friend.

“Breanna,” she said.

“Daniel,” he spoke, but made no move to shake hands. Phil removed his hand from Dan’s back.

“Dan is feeling a bit, uh, overwhelmed, understandably. How about we part ways for now, so everyone can process, and have dinner later?”

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Breanna asked. There was obvious snark behind the question but Phil just smiled.

“Dan’s best friend, thanks. And you?”

“Ellie’s cousin,” She stared back at him for a moment then, seeming satisfied, softened her gaze.

“So, dinner, with... _all_ of us?” Ellie spoke.

“Yes,” Dan answered quickly. “I mean, I’d prefer that, if you are okay with that,” He cleared his throat. She hesitated for a moment, staring into Dan’s eyes. It made him slightly uncomfortable.

“Okay.”

They all exchanged phone numbers--quickly, thanks to Dan’s rushing--and planned to met at the hotel restaurant at seven thirty.

\----

Back in their shared hotel room, Dan collapsed on one of the beds. That was draining. He hated panic attacks. No matter how many times his best friend told that they were seldom his fault and it was okay, Phil could never convince him into feeling unembarrassed. Plus they made him feel like he could sleep for a week. It was like being sucker punched, only the pain was mental instead of physical. Well, mostly. Gasping for air hurt the lungs a bit.

Phil's sudden but familiar weight laying down beside him calmed his thoughts.

“So,” the elder said.

“So,”

“You have a soulmate,” That was a stupid thing to say. Of course he did. He had a mark, didn't he? Dan didn't voice that as he knew Phil was only trying to start the conversation.

“Yup,” he said instead. Phil sighed.

“Come on, Dan, you know if we don't talk about it, it'll just kept turning in your head till you can't take it,” Dan sometimes hated it when Phil was right. He especially hated how Phil knew him better than he did. He usually didn't, but today was all about things Dan hates, apparently.

“Yeah, I know, but there’s nothing to talk about this time,” Another sigh, but Phil didn't stand.

“You just found your soulmate, that's not nothing,”

“It feels like it,” Dan muttered under his breath, then immediately regretted it. It had been an automatic reaction, an involuntary response. Yet another thing he disliked.

“Wait, what?” Phil asked, sitting up to look at Dan, but not leaving. Dan covered his loud groan by putting his hands to his face.

“Dan,” Phil spoke softly. The younger sighed.

“Did your parents tell you about how they met?” Dan started off, finding it easier to speak when coming from a base. Phil nodded.

“Yeah, they said they knew they would be together when they first touched, before they saw the marks. It felt like electricity,” His voice sounded far away.

“Yeah, my parents too, and everyone who has ever told me about meeting their soulmate. But I…” Dan trailed off, bring his hands to his face once more and sitting up to be level with Phil. The black haired boy put a hand on Dan's shoulder, encouraging him to go on, but letting him know he can take time if he needs it. _In, out,_ Dan breathed.

“I didn't feel anything like that. It just felt like meeting just another person, nothing special.” Phil was silent, which made Dan nervous. _Had he done something wrong? Was it his fault he didn't feel the famed sparks? Or was Phil annoyed at him for talking about not wanting his soulmate when he didn't have one?_

That made Dan stop. He didn't want his soulmate? Where had that thought come from? I mean, yeah, he didn't feel anything. But rejecting a soulmate you've just meet was unheard of. Soulmates were a thing most everyone had, and still cherished, never taking the idea for granted. Who was he to suddenly throw that to the wind just because he didn't feel what he thought he was supposed to?

He must have looked panicked because Phil started whispering calming things, wrapping his arms around Dan and pulling him down so he was lying in the elder's lap. They hadn't done this in a while, comforting one while the other played with the other's hair. It had happened a lot in the past, whenever one was nervous, stressed. It had happened a couple of time during the book and tour process. But not in a while. Dan kept his eyes closed, focusing on his best friend's voice rather than his words. _In, out, in, out._

There was no reason for Dan to be stressed. Nothing bad had happened and nothing bad was going to happen. He was safe and okay.

Phil's voice turned to light humming, a silent signal that he was going to say something he want the younger to hear, and Dan opened his eyes to stare into not-quite-blue ones.

“Dan. It's okay. Soulmates are a weird thing. Just because you've met yours doesn't mean you're attached to them. First off, she might not even be yours. We only looked at the mark for a second. Shh,” Phil stopped Dan from interrupting, rubbing his arm, before he'd even opened his mouth. 

He was right, Dan was going to say that they both knew full well what Dan's mark looked like, and that the girl's was an exact copy, but that didn't stop Dan from rolling his eyes.

“Second, you've only just met. She's American, you'll probably have to have plenty of Skype calls before you need to make a decision on commitment. And…” Phil stopped, looking down at him with a look that didn't reach him. Dan tapped him three times with his index finger, another one of their silent communications, this one representing the syllables in ‘it's okay’. Dan waited for him to go on.

“You have lots of time, you don't need to worry about anything...anything changing.” Phil smiled, but Dan knew him better than that. He still hadn't said what he meant. However, Dan also knew him well enough to know when to not push. Instead of asking, he nodded he head, squeezed Phil's arm, and sat up.

“Might as well play Mario Kart while we wait,” he spoke, effectively ending their moment.

\----

“So, Phil, have you met your soulmate?” Ellie asked, trying to cut the awkward silence that had befallen on the table since they'd sat down. Meeting up was just as awkward as Ellie went in for a hug and Dan went for a handshake, and both girls did nothing more than nod at Phil.

“I don’t have a mark,”

“Oh.”

There was another pause in conversation. Dan groaned internally; it was obvious she was one of those people who thought that those without soulmates were cold. She just didn’t know Phil.

“Uh, what about you, Breanna?” Phil asked. Breanna smiled and held up her left hand to reveal a ring.

“Met her about two years ago, married about a month after that,”

“Congratulations,” Dan said, meaning it. Just because he didn’t want a soulmate didn’t mean he couldn’t be happy for others who did.

There was another pause. Dan figured he should probably do more than stare at his drink.

“Uh, we live in London,” He said, hoping someone else would carry the subject opener. Phil came to his rescue.

“Yeah, we have for quite awhile. We’re on holiday here after doing a bit of work stuff,” He explained.

“Oh, that’s cool,” Ellie said, nodding her head. “We live in Virginia, but are taking a much needed girl’s trip.” She laughed. She had a very strange laugh, loud but still inward. It bothered Dan.

“Work, you said? Do you work together?” Breanna asked. Phil nodded, but didn’t speak, looking at Dan to take the question.

“Yeah, we, uh” he hated explaining YouTube. They either thought you weren’t responsible or were a porn star. “We make videos for the internet, on YouTube?” He meant it as a statement but it sounded like a question.

“Oh,” Ellie spoke. Her and her cousin shared a look.

“Does that pay well?” Breanna gestured. 

_Irresponsible_ , Dan thought.

“Enough.” Phil said with forced lightness. They both hated it when people asked about the money. It made them feel awkward and uncomfortable. The girls nodded and looked back to their menus. They followed suit.

No one talked again until their waiter arrived to take their orders. And it was still an uncomfortable amount of time after that when Breanna decided to take a plunge into the awkwardness. 

“Uh, Ellie, why don't you tell us a bit about your work?” The redhead nodded her head, taking up the opener.

“I'm a lawyer, well not yet, I'm just an intern at a firm, but I have a stop lined up to work there once I finish school in December,”

Dan looked over a Phil, who gave him a sympathetic loom. He couldn't help but hang his head.

“What?” Breanna ask, accusation in her voice.

“No, sorry, uh, that's quite an accomplishment, congratulations,” Dan said quickly, straightening his posture. He's tone didn't match his words, and both girls could tell.

“Uh, Dan took law at uni, but it, uh,” Phil looked over at him, trying to find a single phrase that explained many on the floor late nights, 2am cuddles after crying, and generally one of the worst experiences of Dan's life.

“It didn't agree with me,” Dan said for him.

“Oh,” Ellie spoke, “Did you finish, or…?”

“Dropped out during year 2,” Ellie nodded like she was trying to agree but didn't know what there was to agree to. She shared another look with her cousin.

“But you're interested in the basics of it, right? That's why you took it?” She looked so hopefully to find something in common Dan was almost tempted to lie. Almost.

“I only took it because it looked employable. YouTube has worked out nicely for me, and I'm happy with it,” Both girls slouched into their chairs like he'd just said the worst possible thing. _Opps._

Dan looked over a Phil who was covering a smile with his hand, pretending to drink through his straw. He had to mental restrain himself from laughing. Instead he gave Phil's side a quick, unnoticeable poke to show he agreed.

Fortunately, their waiter arrived with their meals. Dan could use his pasta as an excuse to not talk. Dan figured looking for reasons to not speak to his soulmate was bad even for his asocial habits, but he was slowly realizing that he really didn't want this. Then more you talked to your soulmate the closer you were supposed to get to love, even platonically. Then more he talked to Ellie, and heard he talk, the less he wanted to be around her. He felt no pull and no desire to gain a pull. He couldn't very well freak out about that now, so he was going to try and find the humor in this. The ‘reasons why Dan's a fail’ toon went through his head, making him choke on his water.

“Sorry,” he sputtered, coughing a bit into his hand.

“Reasons?” Phil whispered when he leaned other, making it look like he was getting Dan's napkin for him. Dan nodded and hid his smile in the cloth. Phil did the same.

“I'm sorry,” Breanna cut in. “Is there history between you two?” Dan shared a furrowed brow look with Phil, both of them confused.

“I mean, we've been friends for ages, but we already told you th--” Phil started before he was interrupted by Ellie.

“Nevermind, sorry, how did you two meet?” Her voice sounded harsh and Dan looked over to Phil to see if he heard it. He had.

“Well, uh, YouTube, actually,”

“Technically Twitter,” Phil added, causing Dan to give him a light hearted shove. The girls looked at each other again, their faces clear that they did not like YouTube.

“So, you met through work?” Breanna asked.

“Kinda,” Dan started, putting his fork down. “It wasn't really work back then, more like a hobby,”

“Yeah, I mean, I've been making videos since 2005, and my videos were monetized when we met, but only just barely and it wasn't a proper job,” Phil said, jumping off of Dan's personality to tell the story.

“Yeah, and I was a massive nerd, and watched Phil's videos a lot--we make comedy stuff--and so I started at replying to him on Twitter,”

“And I noticed, and we started talking a lot, Skyping and stuff. This was in 2009 when no one was really on Twitter.”

“Mhm, he inspired me to start making my own videos, and after that we meet up,”

“And now we’re here.” Phil finished. They told that shortened version of their first year together so many times, it was easy to go back and forth in talking, playing off each other.

“Oh,” Ellie said, looking at Dan with uncomfortable intensity. He looked away.

“And where is here?” Breanna asked. Dan decided that she didn't like them much.

“Uh, we've done a lot with YouTube, created a fanbase, we actually just-” Phil stopped and looked at Dan, asking with his eyes if he should continue. Dan was happy to brag about their accomplishments to the cousin who didn't think it was a career, so he finished for him.

“We wrote a book together in 2015 and just finished going on tour with it all over. Our last show was in December,” That shut Breanna up. She opened he mouth to speak, but instead closed it and nodded.

The rest of dinner passed uncomfortably, with the only conversation being random facts about everyone that had been thrown in the air at an attempt, and failure, to continue conversation; Breanna was also a lawyer, apparently it was a family thing ( _just fantastic_ , Dan thought), Ellie had a younger brother who was in high school and an older sister who was a police officer, Phil told them about his own degree, and Dan mentioned where they'd gone on tour at the request of Ellie.

They skipped dessert.

\----

Back in hotel room once again, Dan felt exhausted. He was fully prepared to never ever see Ellie again; he guessed that wasn't completely fair but was still how he felt. However, she'd ‘asked’ him to have breakfast with her the next day--alone. He couldn't exactly say no, so they'd planned for nine o’clock at some local diner he'd never heard of. Phil unfortunately didn't come to his rescue this time, but given the look he was getting now back in their room, the conversation from earlier was not finished.

“Dan,”

“Phil,”

“Dan.”

“Sorry,” He went to sit on his bed, removing his shoes and socks, trying to communicate to Phil that he was going to bed, and didn't want to talk. Phil came and sat next to him, having removed his shoes at the door.

“We still need to talk about Ellie,”

“No we don't,” Dan stood and went to the en suite bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. He realized he probably wasn't being completely fair-- to Phil or Ellie --and sighed. He might have been a stubborn but he wasn't rude. At least, he didn't try to be.

“Okay, fine,” He stated simply with no added opener and kept busying his hands with his face wash. Phil came up to the second sink and started to do the same.

“Let's start out slowly, do you like her?”

“I mean, I don't want to marry her,” Dan had his face in the sink, running it over with water, otherwise he would have seen the exasperated look Phil gave him.

“Soulmates can be platonic Dan, even though it looks like Ellie isn't for that.” He mumbled that last bit under his breath. “Do you like her at all, like, as a person?”

“Not...particularly,” There was a pause. “But I've only just met her, so…” He added quickly, them trailed off.

“Okay, can you see yourself with her? Like, getting to know her, living to--” He stopped. They lived together. They just moved house. The idea with living with anyone else was strange, not something they'd thought about, even through all of this. It was uncomfortable.

“No.” Dan stated, being completely honest.

“Oh,” Phil said.

Either Phil didn't know what else to ask, or he finally got that Dan didn't want to talk about it, because they said silent while finishing up their separate night routines.

Dan finished before Phil and was hoping to pretend to be asleep before the elder was done. He took off his shirt and slipped off his trousers and crawled under the sheets. As he snuggled under them, trying to find the perfect fall-asleep-position, he realised he hadn't turned any of the lights off. _Ugh_.

Unfortunately, Phil came back into the room, in his colorful pjs, as Dan was turning off a lamp. Well, there went that plan. Phil turned of the main lights and then dragged Dan over to his bed, making lay down. He left the table side lamp on and then sat next to Dan.

“She is your soulmate,” Not what Dan wanted to hear. “You have to give her a chance.”

“Says who?” Okay, now Dan really was being selfish.

“Says me,” Phil poked him in the side, smiling. He laid down next to him, reaching across Dan to the table in between their beds. He grabbed Dan's phone and started tapping the screen.

“What’re doing?”

“Setting an alarm so you wake up in time to go to breakfast,” Dan groaned.

“What are you going to do while that awkwardness is taking place?”

“Dunno, maybe go get food with Martyn before we go to that museum.” He finished setting the alarm and threw Dan’s phone onto an armchair, ignoring Dan’s protest of the action. “You will be done in time to go the exhibit with us, right?”

“Yeah, of course. That was planned first, and besides, I haven't seen your mum and dad in ages,”

“You saw them just a couple a months ago when we went for dinner,”

“Exactly, ages. Whenever I see your mum and it's been longer than a month she pinches my cheeks and tells me to come up more often.” Phil turned his head look at him with an amused smile.

“Really? I didn't know that,” Dan nodded.

“Mhm, and she says to slap you if you object,” That made both of them laugh.

“I wouldn't object! She's my mum!”

“Yeah, well, she likes me more,”

That enthused a minor tickle war with both of them laughing. They fell back down on the bed, with the air feel much lighter than before. After that, it was easy to fall asleep, even though Phil wasn't in his bed, and neither of them were under the duvet.

Dan woke up sometime around midnight, cold. Honestly, he knew they were in Florida, but did the hotel didn't have to keep the temperature at zero degrees? He didn't want to wake Phil up as he seemed so peaceful when he slept. But he knew Phil was getting cold to as he'd wrapped himself around Dan in his sleep.

He carefully, and awkwardly, tugged at the duvet, trying not to move as Phil still had his arm over Dan. He managed to pull it free from under them and placed it on top. Then he shuffled his body a bit, trying to get comfortable. He stopped when Phil stirred, afraid of waking him. Luckily, all the older man did was put his arm over his head and bring his other arm across Dan's waist.

Dan tensed up a bit. Sure, they cuddled before, and had fallen asleep cuddling before. They _were_ best friends _and_ lived together for what, seven years now? But it still made Dan a bit uneasy, like he was about to do something wrong and the best way to prevent whatever that was, was to stay completely still. Normally the tenseness didn't last very long; Phil was always there to trace patterns on his arms and whisper funny stories, even though there was no need for the lower volume and Dan would relax and often have the best sleep.

Phil was asleep now, so no childhood tales, but his fingers drew circles on Dan's hips unconsciously, which helped Dan let out his breath and calm his overthinking mind. It was just Phil. He leaned back and brought his arm up to lay over Phil's.

Right before sleep overtook him he realized why he was so distressed over Ellie being his soulmate. He wasn't that he didn't want a soulmate, it was that he didn't want her.

He wanted Phil.

_Shit._


	2. Chapter Two

Dan woke up to an annoying beep. He groaned and leaned further back on whatever was warm behind him, burying his face into the pillows. Then he remembered last night’s realization, and he remembered who he was leaning against.

Dan doesn’t think he’s ever got out of bed so fast in his life.

Phil groaned at the sudden loss of body heat and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. “Wha’re’y’doin’?” He slurred together.

“Getting ready,” Dan announced as he pulled yesterday’s trousers over his pants, suddenly very aware of how almost naked he was.

“Why?”

“The alarm went off,” Phil looked at him strangely and sat up, swinging his legs off the bed, but not quite willing to stand yet.

“Since when do you get up when the alarm goes off?” He mumbled then yawned. Dan walked into the bathroom and quickly debated on showering or not. He decided he didn’t have the time and his hair was well enough if he ran dry shampoo through it.

“You’re the one who said I should give her a chance, so I’m giving her a chance,” Phil appeared at the door frame, leaning against it for support. He gave Dan a confused look, then widened his eyes.

“Right! Ellie. I forgot about that for a second,” It was Dan’s turn to give him a strange look, but he ignored the statement and started brushing his teeth. Phil went over to his suitcase in the corner of the bathroom and took out his travel hair wash. He set in on the edges of the shower-bath and came over to Dan. He reached out and touched the younger’s neck from behind. Dan flinched away.

“Wha’re’yo--” He stopped and and spit the toothpaste out of his month. “What are you doing?”

“Looking at your mark, calm down. It’s just me,” He rolled his eyes at Dan and then turned him around to look at the mark. Dan watched him through the mirror. _Yeah, just you,_ he thought. Phil traced the outline of the raven with a faraway-thinking look. Dan wanted to lean back, but he stayed rigid.

“Aren’t marks supposed to change?”

“What?” Dan asked, reaching for a random shirt as soon as Phil pulled away. Which didn’t help as the closest was Phil’s jumper, which smelled strongly of him.  
“When you met your soulmate, aren’t they supposed to change?” Phil clarified.

“Uhm,” Dan didn’t know what to say. Marks were supposed to change when you fell in love with your soulmate--platonic or otherwise--not when you met them. That being said, most people hit love very, very soon after meeting them. Afterall, they were soulmates for a reason. “Technically?” He settled for.

“So, she’s not your soulmate?”

“No, the mark doesn’t change that fast, I don’t know,” He sighed, talking about soulmates was suddenly very uncomfortable. He looked at the time on his phone, 8:15, and pretended to get ready faster as if he was late. Phil got the message, though not without an eye roll, and proceeded to strip for his shower. Dan left the bathroom without attempting to style his hair.

He shrugged on a pair of ripped jeans which were in the main room from when he couldn’t decided what to wear yesterday, however his bag was in the bathroom, which he didn’t want to go into, so he was stuck with Phil’s new white jumper with blue stripes. _Well, it could’ve been the pug shirt,_ he told himself.

He spent a good minute muffing his hair over in the decorative mirror above the beds before giving up and sweeping it into a quiff. Not his usual style, but better than what it was at now.

“Yeah, Phil? I’m leaving,” He called, half hoping the elder wouldn’t hear him. The water turned off and Phil quickly emerged from the bathroom with one towel wrapped around his waist instead of his usual three and soap in his hair.

“You know, if that’s all it took to get you out of the shower, I would leave the house much more often. Honestly, Phil, our water bill,” He mumbled while fussing with his shoes. Why did he have to bring the ones with zips?

“It’s not even 8:30,” Phil said.

“Want to get there early,” He responded with forced disinterest.

“Okay,” Dan stood to retrieve his phone and wallet. “You come back here for the museum, right?” Dan heard something he couldn’t name in Phil’s voice, but it make his chest tighten. He walked up to Phil and put his hands on the elder’s wet shoulders.

“Phil.” He nodded. “I’ll be back by ten, ten thirty at the latest, and we will go to the exhibit with your family and everything will be great.” Phil nodded again.

“Okay, I’m just gonna, uh, finish showering now,” They both laughed lightly, and Phil gave him a quick hug. It was awkward as he was still holding up his towel and was getting Dan slightly wet and soapy, but Dan reciprocated anyways.

“Spoon,” he said as they parted.

“Bear,” the other responded.

Dan smiled and shook his head as Phil turned back to the bathroom and Dan opened their hotel room door to leave.

\----

He was twenty minutes early. He knew this when he left, but for some reason his head had put it together that somehow he’d arrive on time. The waiter kept giving him sympathetic looks after he said he was waiting for someone, probably because they thought he’d been stood-up.

Ellie arrived six minutes early, not that Dan had been looking at the clock constantly, and waved with a smile before coming over to sit down. She stood awkwardly at the table for a moment before taking the seat. Dan realized after it was probably because she wanted him to formally greet her. _Opps._

“Hi!” She said.

“Hello,” Dan felt was too formal and awkward.

“Did you find it okay?” He furrowed his brow together. “The cafe?”

“Oh! Yeah, the cabbie knew it,” More awkwardness. Dan made a mental note to work on his small talk skills. He busied himself by looking at the menu, not really reading the options, but thinking of conversation openers.

“Why roses?” Ellie asked suddenly. Dan looked at her with his brow furrowed. “When I was 16, I don’t know how old you were, the mark changed from clouds to roses. Nothing really changed about me than, so it must have been you. Why roses?”

“What do you mean?” He had never tried to make sense what his mark was, and he didn’t think it was his fault. Ellie signed.

“It changed to a raven when my grandmother died; my personality really changed then, I became more focused on school, my future, those kind of things. Once I realized that, it changed to a raven. But when it went from clouds to roses, nothing really changed about me.” She finished, giving him that uncomfortable stare.

Dan thought about that. It changed when he was a teenager; he was eighteen. His personality was very fluid back then, he was trying to be some many different people at the same time because he didn’t really know who he was, but he knew he didn’t like it. He signed up for law then too. But that was all in the beginning of the year, the mark changed around the end. He started making videos around then, but that didn’t change his personality did it?

“I don’t know,” He said instead of voicing any of this.

“Do you do any self reflection?” Ellie asked accusingly.

“My brand is self reflection, I just don’t like to think about soulmates,” He responded, borderline snapping.

“Why? What’s so bad about soulmates?” Dan paused. He knew it was an underlying question, asking _what’s wrong with me?_ Then he figured honesty was the best way to work things out. Afterall, he wouldn’t be paired with her if she couldn’t work with him, right?

“I just don’t think they’re as important as they’re hyped up to be.” She slouched into her chair. “I just mean, if I want to get to know someone--platonically or romantically--I can do it without some tattoo telling me.” He slipped the platonic in there purposefully, as they hadn’t talked about where their relationship was headed, though Dan had a feeling that conversation would happen sooner than he’d like.

“But that’s not all a soulmate is,” Ellie argued. “They’re supposed to be someone who is able to understand you better than you do yourself, someone who is alike you enough that you can always find common ground, but different enough to learn and grow from, someone who fits,” She was enthusing with her hands, obviously passionate about the subject. Dan, however, didn’t feel any better about soulmates through her speech. She just perfectly described his relationship with Phil, probably better than he could. Luckily, the waiter saved him a minute before responding.

“Just the pancake special, please,” He ordered.

“The scrambled eggs and spinach meal, and I’ll just stick with water”

The waiter nodded at them and took their menus with a promise to refill Dan’s coffee. Dan thanked him again before turning back to Ellie.

“I guess you’re right about the idea of soulmates, but I don’t think that’s how it works in practice. Look at all the soulmates you get divorced, or cut off their friendship. People grow and sometimes they grow apart, no matter what they were to each other once. It’s something that can’t be helped. I think that soulmates are more like a suggestion, rather than a decision. Or maybe they’re someone you need in your life in order to progress, but not someone you're meant to be with,” He finished, working out what he was saying as he was saying it. He’d never really talked about soulmates like this before, and he wasn’t even aware he had these thoughts.

Ellie looked at him strangely, not saying anything as the waiter came back with a coffee pot and another glass of water. Dan was beginning to think of possible escape routes when she finally spoke.

“I’ve never thought about it like that.” Dan shrugged his shoulders.

“I mean, some soulmates are definitely meant for each other. My uncle’s soulmate is his best friend, they live in a dual house together with their families. Phil’s parents? The most in love I’ve ever seen anyone. I just don’t think it’s like that with everyone.” He busied himself with pouring creamer and sugar into his coffee rather than looking up at Ellie.

“Do you think we’re like that?” She spoke quietly. Dan sighed and took a long drink. He didn’t think so, but saying that out loud was just rude. So, instead, he shrugged his shoulders.

“Too early to tell.” She nodded.

Why is everything I do awkward? Dan thought to himself.

“Uhm,” He cleared his throat, but before he could say whatever casual line he thought up, she decided she wasn’t done with the heavy topics.

“You live in the UK,” she said. Dan nodded.

“Yup,”

“I live in Virginia,”

“So you’ve mentioned,”

“How’s that gonna work?” It was Dan’s turn to stare.

“I hadn’t exactly thought that far ahead. Figured maybe we could get through breakfast first?” She rolled her eyes.

“Best to get the important things thought through,” He sighed heavily.  
Dan gratefully accepted the pancakes from the waiter with many thank yous. He took three bites, careful to not moan about how good they were (honestly, American pancakes? Yum), before responding.

“There’s always Skype,” He said, think back to Phil’s words.

“Just Skype? I’d like you see you again, you know.”

“The point of Skype is that you see each other.”

“Not what I meant.”

Dan took another mouthful of pancakes. If there was an award for avoiding conversation through food, he would definitely win. “Well, I mean, can’t we just start from one point and then figure it out? It’s not exactly a textbook situation.” Ellie sighed.

“What about dinner tonight, this time for getting to know each other rather than getting things sorted?”

“I can’t, I’m sorry, we--me and Phil-- have plans with his family.” He said through pancakes. Ellie had barely touched her eggs and toast.

“You’re on holiday with his family?”

“Yeah,” He swallowed. “They go to Florida every year, have since before me and Phil met. This year, we coordinated around a convention for YouTube.”

“Okay,” She pulled out her phone, tapping at it. In his determination to talk as little as possible in order to avoid embarrassment, he’d almost finished his meal.

“Tomorrow, brunch?” Dan wrinkled his nose. He and Phil planned to have lunch with some friends while they were in Florida, as they only saw them once or twice a year.

“How about dinner?” Ellie rolled her eyes, but nodded her head anyways.

“Phil can come as well, and Breanna. I think it’ll be better that way,” She told her plate more than him. He nodded his head. He wasn’t a big fan of Breanna, but having Phil there would make things less awkward and much more enjoyable. Remembering Phil, Dan checked his own phone. The time glowed up at him. Almost ten, he should leave soon.

“Uhm, I have to go soon, holiday plans,” He stumbled out, but before he could fumble over an array of apologies, Ellie spoke.

“What are you doing?”

“Uh, museum. Science Center.” She nodded then raised her hand at a passing waiter.

“That’ll be interesting. I should as well, Breanna will be wondering,” Dan furrowed his brow, but nodded anyways. She went from borderline clingy to not wanting him there at all. Or Dan was just over exaggerating everything in his head. Probably the latter.

He apologised anyways, paid the check despite her protests, and left to catch a cab to the hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's Wednesday not Sunday, but I thought you wouldn't mind the early upload. This chapter is a bit rushed as I was excited to get to the next chapter, but, y'know, chronological order and whatnot. The angst is coming up!! What do you think about that soulmate converstation, huh? Also: I get to write about Phil's mum? Yay!
> 
> As always, check out [my tumblr](http://www.scarlett-phan.tumblr.com) for more, if you have any comments leave 'em below, and if you have any requests or other inquires, feel free to email me at theoncomingscarlettstorm@gmail.com. Love you, bye!

**Author's Note:**

> So this was fun. I actually quite like this series and am excited to write more of it, which means I'll update more, yay! This will be chaptered (obviously, that'd be a horrible way to end it) but I don't know how many chapters. Normally I plan out each chapter before I start writing, but I didn't do that this time and all the planning is in my head, which is working out so far. Next chapter will probably be in a week's time, but no promises on an exact date: you could get it tomorrow, you could get it Sunday, who knows? Not me.
> 
> Okay, hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading, check out scarlett-phan.tumblr.com for more, bye!!


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